Cooney: Sixers seem like more of the same

THERE IS a fine line between being a realist and constantly practicing pessimism. That is especially true whether you are a fan of the sports landscape here in Philadelphia or possess a heavy interest in the upcoming presidential election.

To avoid a flood of emails, we'll stick with sports, particularly the 76ers.

The concerns after five preseason games are many and, frustratingly, very familiar. There still are way too many times that opponents get easy baskets in transition, which has been a concern of coach Brett Brown's since he took over the program in 2013. Part of the reason teams get easy run-outs that lead to open shots is that the Sixers take ill-advised shots, particularly early in the shot clock.

There are head-scratching decisions at the defensive end, which might be due to individual thoughts or part of a grand scheme. In Thursday's loss against Washington, Wizards All-Star point guard John Wall was left open as his defender left to double-team the ball. Leaving Wall should never be part of any thought or game plan. Ever.

Defensive rotations are still way too slow. Open jump shots are too often the norm. Perhaps that can be directly tied to the unfamiliarity that these players still feel with one another.

"We started the season with an abundance of 'five' men and the challenge was going to be, 'How do you play it?' It's ended up that we have one 'five' man (Joel Embiid) that's restricted to 12 minutes," Brown said. "We started the season with the first player chosen in the draft (Ben Simmons) and we've ended up with now-growing Dario (Saric). You started out with two veteran players in Gerald Henderson and Jerryd Bayless and, at the moment, we're left with one with restricted minutes, in Gerald Henderson.

"I say that there are opportunities all over the place for many people, but it is very challenging getting ready for an NBA season trying to find some fluidity as to how you play it. I do think there are excellent opportunities for many other people."

Hindering the preparation is the surgically repaired right knee that has kept Jahlil Okafor sidelined this preseason and the strained groin suffered by Nerlens Noel last week. Bayless is still awaiting word on an MRI performed last week on his wrist and appears nowhere close to getting on the court.

That's the reality. It will be a slow start this season - that's a given. What wasn't a given, and what should lead to a boatload of optimism for fans and a little bit of consternation for Brown is the play Embiid has exhibited, culminating in the 7-2 center's 14-minute outing Thursday, when he posted 11 points and 12 rebounds. He made seven of his eight foul shots, blocked a shot, had a monstrous follow slam and stepped out for a one-on-one defensive matchup with Wall, maybe the quickest guard in the NBA. Embiid forced Wall to miss an 18-foot step-back jumper after he couldn't penetrate past Embiid.

While Brown has truly believed since his first day here that this team must be one that possesses tremendous pace, you have to wonder whether the addition of Embiid might lead him to think about more of a halfcourt game.

"So finding that balance of pace and post is going to be the eminent challenge," he said. "I think that we're tripping on it. I will tell you that he is better than I thought he was, and he really makes you think that you want to play through him a lot, at times almost every possession. But we've learned over the ages (that) to walk it up and just try to horse him all the time isn't going to get it done. I feel that his usage rate and how we're playing right now, we've got to get better at it. But I think that we're on track to figuring him and us out.

"I feel at times I want to get him the ball more. He just peppers stat sheets. We're trying to space and play off him. He's showing a tenacity that even surpasses what I thought. He's showing a skill package that surpasses what I thought. When I say that, this early, he's doing some things five games into preseason basketball that I thought would take longer. I say . . . those types of things are better than I expected for the reason that it just happened a little bit sooner."

When speaking of Jerami Grant the other day, Brown point out that the wingman was special because he could do what the team wants offensively - run the floor. But if you look around the rest of the roster, not many others can fit that bill.

So it goes back to this thought: Are you better off trying to fit players into a system or trying to fit a system around the talent you have? If the latter is the case, Embiid certainly would need to become the focal point of the offense.

"I think I've been running the floor pretty well," Embiid said. "As a big guy, that's what they want me to do and eventually get to the block, get position and try to post up. I think I've been doing a pretty good job running the floor. I've been getting to the foul line a lot, but I've got a lot of stuff to work on on offense. It's getting a little bit easier for me. I'm starting to figure out things. It's only going to improve."

That's probably the reality of the season, trying to figure things out and hoping for improvement.

@BobCooney76

Blog: philly.com/Sixersblog